Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has declined to comment on claims that former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s son, Dedani, has allegedly paid back the money he received from Digital Vibes.
A social media post by soccer club owner, Shauwn Mkhize, sparked questions about whether Dendani had paid back the funds.
Shauwn posted a picture of herself, standing next to the former minister and his son, in which she detailed her efforts to reconcile the father and son, who have an estranged relationship.
Zweli Mkhize had previously portrayed his relationship with his son as estranged – and that he was unaware of his involvement in the Digital Vibes contract.
“I’m glad Dedani did the right thing by paying back all the money in question to SIU and allowing the law to run its cause”, Shauwn Mkhize wrote on her Instagram page.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told News24 on Thursday that he could not confirm the claims made in the social media post.
He said the matter was sub judice. “We cannot comment on the claims as the matter is before the court,” Kganyago said.
Dedani previously denied benefitting from the Digital Vibes contract.
READ: Digital Vibes: SIU wins bid to go after companies linked to Mkhize family
The SIU flagged the R150 million contract as fraudulent.
The unit said the contract, awarded to Digital Vibes as an extension to the NHI media campaign, benefitted close associates of the former minister and his family.
The unit labelled the network used to distribute money linked to the contract as a “money laundering scheme”.
Digital Vibes was run by Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha, who were close associates of Mkhize snr.
The unit found that Dedani benefitted more than R1 million from the contract.
The money was channelled to his farming business and to fund the operation of vanity businesses, which is linked to Dedani and his wife.
The SIU has applied to set aside the R150 million contract and to retrieve all the funds linked to it.
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